[Whitewashing the Y, ca. 1911]

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Call Number	UAP 2 Folder 071
Photographer	BYU Public Communications
Title	[Whitewashing the Y, ca. 1911]
Description	According to legend, the junior class had the audacity to sneak up the side of the steep mountain east of campus and paint "1907" in bold view of everyone. The outraged seniors virtually declared war on the upstarts, and to keep the peace, student administrators suggested painting the University symbol on the mountainside in place of numerals. Professor Ernest D. Partridge designed the emblem and supervised its survey in 1906. It measured 322 x 120 feet, and 280 acres of land were purchased for the project. Elmer Jacob, Clarence Jacob, and Harvey Fletcher, students of Professor Partridge, climbed the mountain and staked out the outline of the letter. According to Dr. Fletcher (later one of the nation's most honored scientists) the survey was made by sighting from the top of the High School Building. Originally, said Dr. Fletcher, all three letters -- B-Y-U -- were planned, but the upkeep of even one has proved to be an overwhelming task. From the air, the letter appears elongated, but it was intentionally designed that way so that it would look normal from the valley floor. At first it was a plain letter, but in 1911 it was made into a block Y by the addition of serifs (foot and caps). Every year on Y day it was built up with stones and cement and whitewashed by thousands of students hauling thousands of gallons of lime mixture up the mountain by a bucket brigade. In this photo, students like a swarm of ants work over the letter. In 1972, and 1973 the letter was whitewashed with the aid of a helicopter because of erosion problems; thereafter the work has been done at autumn registration time by incoming freshmen.
Edition	Electronic reproduction;
Publisher Original	Brigham Young University
Date Original	ca. 1911
Date of Photographic Print	ca. 1970-1975
Publisher Digital	Brigham Young University
Date Digital	2005-01
Physical Description	Gelatin Silver; 24.0 x 18.9 cm. (9 1/2 x 7 7/16 in.)
Medium	Gelatin Silver
Dimensions	24.0 x 18.9 cm. (9 1/2 x 7 7/16 in.)
Holding.Institution (Owning Institution)	Brigham Young University
Subject	Y Mountain (Utah)
Topics	Y Mountain (Utah)
Geographic Place Names	Y Mountain (Utah)
Subject Category	Brigham Young University--History
Genre	Photographs
Historic Time Frame	Brimhall Era 1904-1921
Citation	Brigham Young University : 1000 views of 100 years, 71 bottom
Relation (Collection)	BYU Photographs 1000 Views for 100 Years
Provenance	The Brigham Young University Archives at the L. Tom Perry Special Collections in the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University.
Rights (Patron Usage...)	http://www.lib.byu.edu/sc_copyright.html
Type	image
Format.Use (Format)	image/jpg
Identifier	UAP2_F071_p071bottom.jpg
File Size	3871.163 KB
SIRSI id	a2760331

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[Whitewashing the Y, ca. 1911]

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